Antirattler for thill-couplings



(No Model.)

P. P. JOHNSON.

ANTIEATTLER FOR THILL oourunes No. 515,688. Patented Feb. 27, 1894.

WITNESSES: INVENTOH 04%; amw B) A TTOHNEYS UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK P. JOHNSON, OF DANVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

ANTIRATTLER FOR THlLL-COUPLINGS.

SPECIFICATION formmg part of Letters Patent No. 515,688, dated February2'7, 1894. Application filed Novemher 6, 1893. Serial No. 490,113. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK P. JOHNSON, of Danville, in the county ofMontour and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and ImprovedAntirattlin g Attachment for Thill- Couplings, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description.

Myinvention relates to an anti-rattling attachment for thill couplings,and it has for its object to provide an attachment which will be simple,durable and economic in its construction, and which will beself-adjusting to all styles of coupling.

A further object of the invention is to provlde means whereby theattachment may be constructed of wire and the wire prevented fromcutting into the thill or unduly chafing thereon.

Another feature of the invention is to provide an anti-rattling devicefor thill couplings which will have a maximum amount of bearing surfaceon the coupling, and which will be so constructed that it willautomatically take up wear. I

The invention consists in thenovel construction and combination of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth and pointed out inthe claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part ofthis specification, in which similar figures and letters of referenceindicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is'a side elevation of a thill coupling and anti-rattlingdevice applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the coupling andthe device located thereon. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of thewear plate of the device, and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the deviceremoved from a coupling, illustrating a slight diiference in theconstruction of the Wear plate.

In carrying out the invention the body of the device is usually andpreferably made of wire of proper size, the wire being bent upon itselfto form two end loops A and B, the said loops being connected by coils Oand O. The loop B is usually made narrower than the loop A, and theinner ends of the said loop are bent to form the inner spirals of thecoils O and C, while the terminations of the outer spirals of the saidcoils are carried somewhat around one end of the coils, and are shapedinto the loop A. The outer extremity of the loop B, is outwardly curvedto a predetermined extent, as shown in Fig. 1, while at the outerextremity of the loop A the wire is carried downward below the body ofthe loop and the ends connected to form a cross bar surrounded by aspiral spring 10, the said spring extending from side to side of theloop;

or the spring may be utilized only to connect the outer extremities ofthe members of the said loop A. In this manner aspring stirrup D, isprovided for the 105p A, rendering it exceedingly elastic at its outerextremity.

The loop A, carries a bail 11, which bail has sliding movement upon theloop, and extends upward practically at a right angle therefrom; and theupper portion of the bail 11, is formed with an outwardly or rearwardlyextending central loop, or concaved section 12, as illustrated in Figs.1 and 4..

In addition to the body and the bail 11, the device further comprises awear plate E, which serves to prevent the body loop B from cutting intoor otherwise marring the thill against which it is practically to have ahearing. The wear plate is preferably made, as shown in Fig. 3, in whichView it is shown as comprising two sections 13 and 14, the section 14,being provided with one decided concaved inner face, the opposite facebeing convexed. In fact, the section 14 is in the nature of a concavedshoe, and is provided upon its under surface with a shank 15, whichextends downwardly therefrom, and then at right angles outwardly fromthe said downward bend. Thus the shank is more or less angular, and itsoutwardly-extending member is attached 0 to the upper face of the bodysection 13 of the wear plate, through the medium of a stud or rivet 16,or equivalent fastening device. The end of the body section 13 of thewear plate which is contiguous to the shoe 14:, and is 9 5 reallysomewhat beneath the shoe, is wider than the shoe, so that lugs 13 areformed, which extend beyond the sides of the shoe. At the opposite endof the body section of the wear plate, lugs 13* are produced, which toolugs are preferably of a cylindrical character; and in attaching thewear plate to the body of the device, the cylindrical lugs 13", are

loosely entered in the coils O and O 3 and the loop B of the body ismade to extend across the under face of the body section 13 of theplate, over the lugs 13 thereof, and over the upper surface of the shoesection 14 of the said plate, as shown in Fig. 4, and the curvedextremity of the loop B, is made to conform practically to the curvatureor convexed surface of the upper face of the said shoe.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a slight modification in the constructionof the wear plate, consisting only in that the plate is made in onepiece, and the shoe section is struck up,

. or offset from the body section 13, thus forming a step between them.

In the application of the attachment, the shoe section 14 of the wearplate at its concaved face is made to engage with the rear surface ofthe eye or socket portion F of the thill, while the body portion 13 ofthe plate is made to engage with the clip plate F of the thill and theforward nut 13 of the clip, the coils being located one at each side ofthe said nut. Theloop A, is then carried beneath the said clip plate Fof the thills, and both of the nuts of the clip, and the bail 11 is slidover the upper rear portion of the clip plate F, and its loop, orconcaved portion 12, may be engaged with the rear member of the clip. In

this manner the shoe 14, is held in frictional engagementwith the socketor eye of the thill by means of the spring body connected with andsupported by the clip section of the thill. The said spring body, byreason of its peculiar formation, will cause the shoe to take up anylost motion that may possibly occur between the sections of thecoupling, and at the same time will exert such pressure on the socketmember of the coupling as to effectually prevent any rattling ormovement of that member upon the clip member, and the attachment furtheracts to maintain the thills in whatever position they may be placed.

It will be readily observed that the antirattling attachment above setforth will accommodate itself to thill couplings of any size andpractically of any shape, and that when wire is employed the wear platewill effectually prevent the wire from cutting into or injuring thecoupling in the slightest degree.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. An anti-rattling attachment for thill couplingsthe same consisting of a spring body provided with a shoe at oneextremity, adapted for engagement with the socket member of the thillcoupling, and a yoke at the opposite end of the body, adapted forengagement' with the clip member of the coupling, as and for the purposeset forth.

2. An anti-rattling attachment for thill 3. An anti-rattling attachmentfor thill I couplings, the same consisting of a body comprising twoloops havinga spring connection,

a shoe carried by one of the loops, and ayoke carried by the oppositeloop, as and for the purpose specified.

4. In an anti-friction attachment for thlll couplings, a bodyconstructed of wire and comprising spring-connected loops, a wear platecarried by one of the loops, said plate having a shoe formed thereon,and a yoke adjustably mounted upon the'opposing loop, as and for thepurpose specified.

5. In an anti-rattling attachment for thill couplings, a bodyconstructed of spring wire, comprising two loops united by coils, one ofthe loops at one of its extremities beneath the body having its membersspring-connected, a yoke movably mounted on the loop, havinga springend, and a shoe located upon the opposite side of the opposite loop,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. An anti-rattling attachment for thill couplings, the same consistingof a body constructed of wire and comprising two springconnected loops,a wear plate extending the length of one of the loops, and a yokemovably located upon the opposite loop, as specified.

7. An anti-rattling attachment for thill couplings, comprising two loopsconnected by coils, and a wear plate having lugs for entering the coilsof the loops and provided with a shoe against which one of the loopsrests, substantially as described.

8. An anti-rattling attachment for thill couplings, comprising two loopsconnected by coils, and a Wear plate having lugs fitting in the coils ofthe loops and provided with a shoe having a concaved inner face,substantially as described.

9. An anti-rattling attachment for thill couplings, consisting of twoloops connected by coils, a wear plate formed of two sections securedtogether, one section being concave on its inner face and the otherprovided with lugs fitting in the coils of the loops, and a bail looselyconnected with one of the said loops, substantially as herein shown anddescribed.

FRANK P. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

ROBERT ADAMS, J. E. MOORE.

